


A Glance

by antelucem



Category: Frozen (2013), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Alternate Universe - Normal High School, F/M, General Shenanigans Abound
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-11
Updated: 2014-06-11
Packaged: 2018-02-04 05:57:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1768000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/antelucem/pseuds/antelucem
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Because when he firsts sees her, he wants to know more. And when she firsts sees him, she feels warm.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Glance

**Author's Note:**

> “The power of a glance has been so much abused in love stories, that it has come to be disbelieved in. Few people dare now to say that two beings have fallen in love because they have looked at each other. Yet it is in this way that love begins, and in this way only.”—Victor Hugo, Les Miserables

His dog hates him.

And it's completely _unfair_ , Jack thinks, because dogs are supposed to love _everyone_ in the family, not just the younger sister and the mom, and _he's_ the one who has to walk Bunny in the morning anyway, so you think the little guy could show some appreciation.

But his dog still hates him.

And Jack still has to walk him in the morning.

So he usually takes Bunny out around six thirty in the morning for a quick three mile warm up jog, and when he's done, the dog is gladly out of his leash and out and about the house to goddamn wake everybody up.

Everyday it's nearly the same: walking Bunny, school, cross country or soccer or track after school depending on the season, and homework.

But one morning it's not.

Because one morning, at the freaking crack of dawn, when there's _supposed_ to be nobody else in the park, someone else is clearly in the park.

And it's a girl.

She's jogging.

He doesn't want to get a good look at her—he probably looks like shit anyway, and strangers in the park this early are generally people to be wary of—but of _course_ he has to get a good look because as soon as Jack jogs by her Bunny has to freaking bark and snap at her heels. Bunny actually brushes the edge of her calf, and she yelps a little, and stops running so she doesn't kick him or something.

Jack's pulling at Bunny's leash, telling him to quit it, and when he looks up at the girl to give her an obligatory sorry, something in him stops.

Because yeah, yeah, there are pretty girls at Burgess High—Rapunzel, Tooth, the whole lot of them— and there are pretty girls everywhere, really, but this girl is—

* * *

 _Beautiful_.

There's a boy in the park looking at her, pulling at the leash of his dog—who's still barking at her—and his mouth is open to give an obligatory apology, she guesses.

And he's beautiful.

He mutters a graceless "sorry," and looks back down at the pavement.

She swallows and mutters something back along the line of "it's okay," and then they're on their ways again, the boy keeping the dog carefully at his side whenever he jogs by her.

He's also insanely fast, so he jogs by her quite a bit, and she wishes that she were alone, but there's something about his facial structure that her mind keeps fixating on. She tells herself that it's _stupid and shallow and ridiculous_ to think about somebody's face for extended periods of time, but she can't stop, and she decides to push herself a little faster.

She jogs until her watch beeps an alarm, and she heads home for a shower and breakfast.

Almost everyday in her life is the same, she thinks.

But today, the _one day_ she decides to switch it up and begin jogging a little bit later, something changes.

There's a beautiful stranger in the park.

And as ridiculous as it sounds….she kind of wants to— 

* * *

"…see her again," Jack explains during lunch. "Goddammit, Hiccup, I'm _telling_ you."

"Jack," Hiccups says, flipping through a textbook. " _I’m_ telling _you_ that all this is very shallow."

"I know," Jack replies with a shrug of his shoulders. "I know, but…"

Hiccup looks up at him briefly with his mouth in a dry line. "She sounds like every other girl to me, to be honest. And I don't even know her. But blond hair, blue eyes, pale skin? That isn't revolutionary or anything. If anything, it's Barbie-esque."

"Shut up," Jack mumbles, and he takes a vicious bite out of an apple. "I'm never talking to you about girls ever again."

"It's the truth," Hiccup says.

 _But they were so goddamn_ blue, Jack remembers. _And her hair was so goddamn_ pale _too, it looked like somebody decided to leach all the color out of her or something._

And he got close enough that he could see pale freckles, and for all he knows she could be absolutely insane or something, but something about her tells him he'd like to— 

* * *

"…know him more," Elsa says. "I don't know, this is foolish. But it's the most interesting thing that's happened to me all day."

Anna beams and twirls spaghetti around her fork. "You usually don't have _anything_ to say during lunch when I ask you the most interesting thing that's happened to you all day. But, this is revolutionary! A cute boy _and_ a dog encounter? Revolutionary!"

"No, it's not," Elsa says a little too quickly, and she looks down at the table. "I don't know what came over me. Don't tell Mama or Papa about any of this okay?"

"I won't," Anna replies, and she stabs a meatball to begin waving it around while she talks. "And what would I say? Today Elsa met some total _stranger_ and almost kicked his dog in the head, and she thinks that he's beautiful even though brown hair and brown eyes sound kind of boring, sorry, and she wants to know him?"

"Let's just drop this," Elsa says, and she feels heat creeping up her neck.

 _But his hair wasn't just_ brown. _It was this…copper_ , she thinks. _And his eyes looked warm even if his mouth was in this sort of scowl, and this is  ridiculous but_ there's something about him _that makes him look like…a fireplace?_

_He looks warm._

She shakes it off eventually, and tells herself that she's just going—

* * *

Crazy.

It's crazy.

But Jack thinks into his pillow and looks up at the glow in the dark stars on his ceiling, and wonders absentmindedly when he falls asleep, if freckles could ever look like constellations.

_Maybe hers do._

And the next morning when he tosses himself out of bed again, he feels something nervous in his stomach when he walks into the park with Bunny.

When he sees her, he lets out a little breath. Because she's still going at that snail's pace, but she's here.

When they jog by her, Bunny behaves himself, and she shows no notice of him besides stepping aside a little.

 _She's breathing wrong_ , he notices. _And she should really try to make sure that everything is parallel to the ground or at ninety degrees._

But she goes on, and he leaves the park slightly earlier than she does.

And when Jack leaves, he wonders.

Because if she's here everyday, and he's going to be here everyday, then this could potentially go on for— 

* * *

Weeks.

It's been going on for weeks, and Elsa still has no idea who he is.

But she notices little things about him, like how he never pushes his dog to run, even if it slows them down. She notices that he wears a Burgess High sweatshirt, and his shoes are beat up.

He runs like it's no bother to him, and his breathing is always steady and synchronized with his steps.

He also doesn't get any less beautiful, which makes it hard for her, because she can't be thinking about eyes or anything when she should be analyzing twentieth century existentialist literature, and she shouldn't be thinking about how he's actually as tall as her when she should be studying stoichiometry.

She shouldn't be thinking about him in general because it's crazy to imagine anything about him, and boys aren't important in her life at all, but she thinks sometimes that he might be a nice person to talk to.

Because even though he's a stranger, he'd probably be far better than the fakes at Arendelle Prep, and sometimes when she hears him muttering to his dog it's kind of funny and endearing.

So in a romantic context, it'd be ridiculous to think of him.

But she has only a couple of real companions, so it might be nice to have him as a— 

* * *

"…friend," Hiccup says after school when they're at their lockers. "Make friends with her, man, if you can't let this go."

"What do I say?" Jack asks, and he messes up his goddamn locker combination _again_ even though he's had this locker for two years now. "This is stupid."

"Yeah," Hiccup replies. "It really is. Glad you're catching on now, Jack."

"Hey, asshole, I’m asking for some sort of advice. It's not that easy to make friends with a stranger."

"Actually, Jack, it is. But I mean, if you're not up for it, just creepily observe her from afar. But if she's from Arendelle Prep, she might end up running in track or something?"

"Nah," Jack shakes his head. "She's too slow. I'm betting she does it recreationally, or something. She seems like the type of person."

"You don't know her at all. I mean, the only way you found out what school she was from was by probably sneaking the creepiest glance ever at her _T-shirt_ , man."

Jack just glares, and finally rips his locker open to grab his soccer bag and change.

And he figures that it really might be a hopeless case, so he might as well keep—

* * *

Quiet.

They don't talk, even though Anna pesters her about it, and Elsa thinks that it might just be like this forever.

And it's okay.

So they spend months running past each other, and even though she's getting faster, she doesn't really acknowledge it.

They're just running in circles in the park, and they're just strangers who have grown accustomed to each other's company.

There's no acknowledgement, just a sidestepping every now and then, and the quiet whooshes of their breath in the winter air.

But when spring time rolls around, Anna convinces her to join the track team, because _the stranger will probably run for the Burgess team, and Elsa, you like running,  don't you?_

And she joins on a whim even though she's far too busy with schoolwork and newspaper and life because a tiny bit of her does hope he'll be there.

And maybe she'll even find out his— 

* * *

"Name."

"Overland, Jack," he says, and he focuses on his shoes.

"You're running in the 400 today," the head coach says, and Jack nods.

 _Dammit_.

He wanted to run in the 3200—two miles, would have totally been under his belt—and although _speed_ is something he's good at and he's practiced the 400 before, it's too much energy in one lap and _arghhhhh_.

But he'll run it anyway.

And today's the big meet against Arendelle Prep—which means _she_ might be there, he thinks, and he tells himself to _shut up because it's clear you don't have the balls to talk to her anyway_ —so he'll just run, and shut his mouth of any complaining.

When the meet starts, there are so many people that he doesn’t see her, and he doesn't let himself be disappointed because she _is_ kind of slow so she wouldn't have joined the team, he guesses.

She's been getting a little bit faster in the morning, though.

Rapunzel and Merida are both running the 400 too, and Jack tells them good luck right before their race.

He watches them gather up at the start of the track, and doesn't really pay attention, just wonders if Rapunzel's new haircut makes her feel like a million pounds lighter or something, and if Merida's hair ever slows her down.

And then the starter goes off, and the girls are running. Hiccup's cheering, and Jack brings himself to stand up to watch.

Merida's _fast_ , and she looks like she's going to win, but then again, she's on the inside lane so she has to do a straightaway for a little bit longer, and there's a girl on the outside lane who— _holy shit_.

Looks like she's—

* * *

Flying. 

Elsa's flying.

Her mind is completely blank and her legs are moving and she feels some crazy energy bubbling and boiling in her blood and she flies.

She doesn't even remember when the race ends, only knows that there's energy still buzzing in her and Anna is grabbing her hand and yelling her name, and when she finally catches her breath, girls are patting her on the back and she's saying thank you.

They all move onto the grass, and Elsa takes a couple of moments to breathe.

And then her ears pick up on it, a voice that's vaguely familiar because it's _typically_ _low and cranky when speaking to his dog_ and she turns around slowly—

and he's there.

She freezes, and Anna is still yelling "Elsa, you did it!" over and over, and when he finally looks over to see what the commotion is all about, he stops for a moment too.

They're not really sure what to do, just looking at each other, so when she first breaks eye contact to hug Anna and tell her thank you, he looks down at his shoes and his friend nudges him.

She's a bit tired anyway, and a tiny bit sweaty, so she almost walks away before Anna grabs her elbow and says with a devious grin on her face, "That's _him_ , isn't it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Elsa replies, but she says it too quickly, and Anna's grin magnifies.

"Elsa, you know _completely_ what I'm talking about," Anna whispers, and she nudges Elsa. "Go _talk_ to him for God's sake, don't think I don't know that you think about him _all the time_."

"I don't think about him all the time," Elsa responds, and she tries to sound convincing. "And you don't have mind-reading powers, Anna."

"I don't have to."

"Regardless, I’m not going over there."

"Oh my _God_ , Elsa, just—"

* * *

"Go," Hiccup says, and he crosses his arms.

Jack feels his face heat up. "No."

 _Her name is Elsa_ , he thinks. _Or that's what that crazy girl is screaming, at least._

 _It's pretty_.

"Come _on_ ," Hiccup urges, and he nudges Jack again. "And I'll admit she isn't bad-looking or whatever, so now we're both shallow idiots, but geez man, _go_."

And this time Hiccup _shoves_ him, and Jack's legs are moving to steady him, and then _fuck this_ , he begins walking because even if he's a shallow idiot he wants to know her and—

they bump into each other.

They're both looking at their shoes and walking straight ahead, so when they knock into each other it's like the start all over again, only this time Jack doesn't have an irritating dog on his hands, and she just ran so fast that Jack couldn't believe his eyes.

"Sorry," she says this time, and she holds out her hand for him to shake as if it's a formal meeting or something, as if they didn't see each other every goddamn day from six thirty to six fifty five. She looks a little bit nervous, but he can't tell if she really is because his heartbeat is spiking and his head is a little bit crazed up because _she's talking to me and I'm going to talk to her if I don't throw up and run away out of shame oh God_. "I'm Elsa."

"…I could tell," he says, eyes darting over to the crazy girl and trying for some semblance of humor and failing miserably. He takes her hand and shakes it once before letting it drop. "I'm Jack."

"My sister's…energetic," she replies, and she smiles a little. "And loud."

"You ran really well out there," he says suddenly, and he looks at the ground again before meeting her eyes. _Goddammit how are they so_ blue? "Good job, by the way."

"Thanks," she says. "I suppose I'm slower in the mornings." 

They both look away then, and Anna and Hiccup come to drag them off with an excuse after the shyness and awkwardness and general feelings of _holy shit what am I supposed to do I don't know_.

And even though they didn't really have a conversation of any sort, Jack feels a tiny bit better because he at least got her name and he had some non-creepy interaction with her, and he can't help but feel like this time might be different.

This time, instead of weeks and months, there might be—

* * *

Years.

Years later, they're both running veterans, and when Jack wins a state championship they're both ecstatic.

He grabs the trophy and looks at her, and he grins.

He blows her a kiss, and standing in the bleachers, she laughs and blows him one back.

And even though she knows for sure she loves him, and even though it's the quiet type of love that comes out of hand-holding and trail running and that one time he took her out to this hill in the middle of nowhere to show her how the city looked during the night—

a tiny part of her knows that this love thing might not be so new.

Because a tiny part of her knows—

she might've fallen in love with him the first time she saw him. 


End file.
